any one experienceing lots of problems with 04 or 05 Sienna?

[DKaz]

Hello, all.

I posted the problem I'm having w/ the rear lift gate on another thread: search "liftgate."

We have engine hesitation and occasionally get the VSC light coming on w/ check engine and various others. Goes away after a while. I'm going to an independent mechanic w/ a good rep soon to check it out. Any experience w/ these things?

Kaz

[hause07]

We have 72,000 trouble free miles on our 04 Sienna Limited AWD. We love it and want to get a newer Sienna in the next year or so.

[tkevin07]

so far my sienna has electrical problems and some mechanical problems

1) Radio doesnt seem to work sometimes the screen goes crazy and flips its own channels the volume knob makes the volume go one up and one down basically stayss the same when turning it...

2) The bulbs on the homelink thing is gone my 85 truck has all its lights working still! OEM lights haha

3) Brakes squeak even after replacing the rotors and pads 2 times, could it be calipers? but also squeaks when going slow into the garage when not applying brakes

4) Engine squeaks or makes squeaking sounds when in gear

5) interior gets really hard to clean, it attracts dirt!

[DJZ08HL]

I'm having a problem with both sliders freezing on my 04 LE. I just created a new thread regarding the problem.

[rekud]

04 LE with DVD enternainment with 52m on the clock. Had some minor issues in which all work was done either under warranty or manufacturer recall.

Finally own it clear and free and my wife and I looked at the 08's and decided since it's running so well we will just keep running her. Had a our mechanic look at it and said beside some brake wear she should be fine for another 52m miles.

I have had quite a few vehicles, all domestic and this is by far the most reliable i've owned. I would rather by domestic, but until the reliability factor comes up on them I will stay with foreign.

[dthomso1]

I have 180,000KM on my '04 Sienna. It has had its share of problems: brakes seem to last only 50,000km and ALWAYS need new rotors. The control arms had to be replaced (that was $1000plus) and the power door stopped working, although the dealer eventually fixed it for free under a secret warranty (it was well outside the warranty at the time). The inside of the driver's door showed some serious rust - this was repaired for free under the rust-proofing program I paid for when I bought it.
Now there is a clunking noise in the steering, so we'll find out what this will cost this week!

[DJZ08HL]

What was the "secret warranty" my power door just broke and they want $1800 to fix. The mechanic said there are known power door problems on the 04 & 05s.

[dthomso1]

If you bother Toyota enough, they may fix your door under what appears to be a non-public warranty. They know that the door is a problem, exacerbated by the fact that the motor in the door (which is weak) cannot be replaced without replacing the entire assembly, including the cable. A stupid design for sure. The motor is probably worth $10 !

[DJZ08HL]

THANKS. I had the dealer cut the cable a few weeks ago so the door would operate manually and it did until last night. I called the dealer this morning and they are going to fix it for FREE. THANKS AGAIN!

[lexusk8]

We have run into just a few problems with our '05 XLE Limited:

- Driver side rear view mirror cracked at the plastic base housing. Looked like either the material was sun-dried too long under the FL sun, or someone pushed down the rear view mirror assembly (highly doubtful). Currently the crack is epoxied and sealed by my dad (looks stupid IMO) since it's hard to source out a replacement part for that.
- Power sliding door function occasionally doesn't work
- The Bridgestone Potenza tires tread only lasted 20K miles. Note to self: Never ever purchase a car with Potenzas; they just don't last long as other tires.
- The hood prop broke off at the base. Replaced in the dealer at our expense

[dmettler]

We have 60,000 miles on our '04 XLE. Here are our main problems:

- Came from the factory with a bad alignment, the original tires only lasted about 25k. They refused to fix the alignment. We have just put on 3rd set after getting a full alignment (the car drives much better - for a mini van), and they seem to be wearing better.
- Both automatic doors stopped working around 35k, they were fixed. Just out of warrenty.
- Driver's side automatic door is broken now, if you are on a hill with the front of the car pointing down, the door will not stay open. I can live with this, I will either sell the car (can't wait) or fix it when it completely stops working.
- The steering column had to be replaced around 45k....WTF! The front of the car was wobbling (like having the tires out of balance). This started happening after having the tires rotated, I think they messed something up at the dealership.
- We are now on our third battery, another WTF! The last one died last weekend, had to tow the car in - bad cell. They have all been covered by warrenty.
- Getting the middle passenger seats in and out can be a huge hassle, the catches seem to have a mind of their own. Sometimes they release, sometimes they don't.

We will be moving our family of six to an SUV as soon as the younger kids are out of baby seats.

My 2 cents...

[dthomso1]

Good point on the bad alignment - I too experienced the same problem which led to the ruination of the original tires at around 30K miles. I agree with you as well that the middle seats are an absolute back-breaker to move in and out - I won't bother anymore, it just isn't worth it.